bambooprincess
spending too much on rocks
I call him Foo Foo...
Member since April 2009
Posts: 318
|
Post by bambooprincess on Aug 11, 2010 8:36:54 GMT -5
Here are four cabs that I did yesterday. The first is a mexican crazy lace. Too bad about the fractures but it's pretty enough. Maybe I can wrap it in such a way as to hide the fractures. Please ignore the fingerprint. The next one is what I am assuming is some sort of pet. wood. Please let me know if you know what it is. A lovely little cab that I'm pretty proud of! That's asome sort of fiber on the left not a fracture. Darn fuzzies! lol And last but certainly not least is a cab of moss agate that I need help with. It took a great shine and feels smooth but the polishing compound has settled into micro fine little pits and stuff. Help me improve on this one? please? How do I fix this?
|
|
|
Post by Toad on Aug 11, 2010 8:53:39 GMT -5
Really like that 3rd one. Nice job.
|
|
|
Post by frane on Aug 11, 2010 9:17:01 GMT -5
Those are beautiful! That second one looks like an imperial jasper to me. I think I would try burnishing the last one with a ton of filler and borax in a tumbler for a few hours to see if it will get the left over polish out. I hope that will work. Fran
|
|
|
Post by sitnwrap on Aug 11, 2010 9:50:45 GMT -5
I don't know what you are using for polish but I use Tin Oxide and I have a few that came out just like your last one. The only way I could "fix" mine was to bring it back down to my 400 wheel. The pits were so small that scrubbing with a tooth brush didn't do any good.
I learned to really look for tiny pits via my loupe before I put it to my polishing pad and if there are any, they go in a "wait til I get diamond polishing belts" pile.
That third one is a beauty.
|
|
Deb/nyllynn
spending too much on rocks
Deb & Jim
Member since April 2009
Posts: 348
|
Post by Deb/nyllynn on Aug 11, 2010 10:26:39 GMT -5
Nice Pieces.
You might try some Efferdent on the one with the polish problem. We use them on crystals sometimes to clean them up. It can be a generic brand. Drop a couple tablets in a cup with water and put your cab in the cup. We usually leave our crystals overnight.
You might try this and check it occassionally to see how it's doing.
Good luck and great job.
Deb ;D
|
|
|
Post by phil on Aug 11, 2010 10:45:24 GMT -5
AN ultrasonic denture cleaner does wonders cleaning out thos pits and cracks. I put a dab of 309 cleanser in the water.
For the cracks, use melted beeswax, then polish well. It usually makes them disappear.
Pic number 2? Looks like Austrailian print stone, but also similar to mammoth tooth material.
|
|
|
Post by Tony W on Aug 11, 2010 11:17:22 GMT -5
Great patterns on all. NIce work. T
|
|
hulagrub
spending too much on rocks
Member since October 2009
Posts: 256
|
Post by hulagrub on Aug 11, 2010 17:24:19 GMT -5
I use a Mystic spot cleaning gun, with water and Dawn dishwashing soap. This cleans out every scratch and pit, just keep it away from your fingers, the high pressure stream ate a hole in my wife's finger in just a heartbeat. Ebay it up as spot cleaning gun, and they start around $50. I always suck up some oil into the gun, when I am done cleaning, to avoid any rust to internal parts. This works great for cleaning up your rocks, geodes and etc, after using a vibrating flat lap. Nice cabs.
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,472
|
Post by Sabre52 on Aug 11, 2010 18:16:29 GMT -5
I use an electric toothbrush and either hydrogen peroxide or a toothpaste with peroxide and it seems to clean things up pretty well.....Mel
|
|
pporky
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2007
Posts: 1,932
|
Post by pporky on Aug 12, 2010 6:22:12 GMT -5
Thats a nice set of well cabbed stones with the 3rd being my fave. Thanks to all for the tips on cleaning up....Bill
|
|
|
Post by moondragon on Aug 12, 2010 7:30:57 GMT -5
Beautiful cabbing Lady. Loved them all:)
|
|
bambooprincess
spending too much on rocks
I call him Foo Foo...
Member since April 2009
Posts: 318
|
Post by bambooprincess on Aug 12, 2010 8:43:19 GMT -5
Thank you all for the tips I think I'll go to the store and get some efferdent. If that doesn't work I may try to rework it on my flat lap which has diamond laps. I'm really working on making nice shapes on my cabs so thanks for the compliments. Where do I find beeswax?
|
|
SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
|
Post by SteveHolmes on Aug 12, 2010 21:42:07 GMT -5
Very Nice! #2 gets my vote but 3 is close behind. I would love a positive ID on #2. Steve
|
|
steelandstone
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2008
Posts: 500
|
Post by steelandstone on Aug 13, 2010 5:16:11 GMT -5
Nice job on the cabs. As for the polish in the pits, I have used a water pick to clean them up before. Works pretty good and if you put listerine in the water it leaves your cabs with nice minty fresh breath. ;D
|
|
bambooprincess
spending too much on rocks
I call him Foo Foo...
Member since April 2009
Posts: 318
|
Post by bambooprincess on Aug 13, 2010 8:25:28 GMT -5
Lol! I did look at the freshening efferdent but decided that my cabs were fresh enough. The efferdent didn't work so now I need to figure out plan B. I did two more cabs yesterday and dropped on at the final polish stage. Concrete floors are NOT kind to cabs. Now I have to rework what's left. The other one has some scratches on it that I want to work out. Oh, and my piece of junk Inland flat lap is stuck again! This will make the third or fourth time something has jammed up on the arbor. grrrr...
|
|
|
Post by Bejewelme on Aug 13, 2010 11:46:47 GMT -5
They look super, #3 is my fav!
I too have the spot cleaning gun, that thing cleans but hurts like crazy, I had to touch the stream to test it, LOL. Also if you have the stream too close it can chip out the crack. I like the electric toothbrush idea of Mel's, I might try that.
|
|
bambooprincess
spending too much on rocks
I call him Foo Foo...
Member since April 2009
Posts: 318
|
Post by bambooprincess on Aug 14, 2010 15:06:00 GMT -5
Yeah. I'm going to try that next.
|
|
stoneviews
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since April 2009
Posts: 1,864
|
Post by stoneviews on Aug 14, 2010 22:30:37 GMT -5
Beautiful, Absolutly Beautiful!!
|
|